Technology for Online CFGs

Trying to figure out what would be the best environment for your online CFG? Various tools have different strengths, weaknesses, and affordances. Here's a list of what we've experimented with so far. Feel free to add your comments or new tools.

Online Communication Genres

Type of Technology	Strengths for CFG Use	Weaknesses for CFG Use	Tools of this Type	Things to think about/consider
Text Chat	Does not require fast connection speeds Does not require special equipment Easy to do	Miss visual cues (emoticons can help) Time for typing needs to be allowed /worked into protocol Turntaking/rounds needs to be figured out Requires a lot of preparation/planning by facilitator	iChat *	Can you tell when people are typing (very helpful in facilitating)? Does it have file sharing capabilities (if you need them)? Can users express feelings via emoticons? Is there a character limit? (if so, you will need to adjust for that - which isn't a bad thing) Can you also send messages to individuals in the group? Can you save the transcript?
Video Chat	*
Skype	*Feels closer to "live" than text chatting, you can hear tone of voice, you can "see" who is speaking	Miss visual cues No automatic written record	Okay, Skype is really an example of Internet Telephony, but most everyone at least recognizes "Skype" Oovoo	If you "skype" with more than two people, you lose your video capability. So same limitations occur regarding turn-taking/rounds. Need to "mute" when typing (important for note-taking) Works well in conjunction with google-docs for document sharing
Discussion Forums	Does not require everyone to be available at the same time Everything is held in text and is able to be easily referenced and quoted People can jump back in easily if they had to be away for a bit	Allowing for interaction at different times means extending the protocol over days
"Classroom" or "Webinar"			DimDim (open source) Elluminate Horizon Wimba GoToWebinar/Meeting WebEx	Cost and accessibility will be an issue for some - many allow for free use up to a certain number of users. Several of these are more enterprise solutions rather than something for individuals.
Teleconference			Polycom *
3D Virtual Environments			Second Life

Support Technology

These are tools that would not necessarily be the "home" or "host" of the Online CFG Session, but could be used as a part of it

Type of Technology	Strengths for CFG Use	Weaknesses for CFG Use	Tools of this Type	Things to Think About/Consider
Collaborative Document Creation	Allows for simultaneous editing, commenting of documents/text Creates a group artifact Norm creation / editing Can usually initially tell by color who has contributed what	Just one more thing people have to have access to Requires comfortability with working with a variety of tools at the same time.	Etherpad TypeLikeMe Google Docs	Some of these (Etherpad and TypeLikeMe in particular) are not fully private. There is not a login for these systems, you just point to the page. Therefore, if someone knew what to search for, they might be able to find it.
MindMapping	Virtual Chalk Talks Archived and can be saved or reviewed later	Just one more thing people have to have access to Requires comfortability with working with a variety of tools at the same time.	MindMeister	MindMeister allows for simultaneous editing, many do not. Most allow for limited use for free. May be able to link out to websites, attach documents and graphics.
Filesharing	Central place to house documents *	Just one more thing people have to have access to Requires comfortability with working with a variety of tools at the same time. Some require installing software on your own computer	Local networks Dropbox Mobi Google Groups Yahoo!Groups	Many chat / audio conference tools have instantaneous file sharing built in so this may not be needed.